Aloha 'oe
by Walking Saint
Summary: Steve returns from his second trip to Japan to find something else waiting for him… though not what he expected to find. - Post 2x23 - Minor appearance of Doris McGarrett - Slightly McDanno


**Huge thanks to my Beta "carpooldragons" **_(though you'll find her works only on AO3)_** for helping me with this fic **_(and helping me with this still unfamiliar McDanno world which I insist on exploring_)** and for being adorable & bearing with me.  
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**Had the idea for this short fic after watching the Season Finale. It's a One-Shot for now but I'm considering writing something to follow, let me know what you think and thanks for reading!  
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**DISCLAIMER: **_Nope. I do not own anything slightly related to Hawaii Five-0._**  
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**"Aloha 'oe"**

At first, he thought that was a joke. Well, not exactly a joke... maybe revenge. Some sort of payback for what he'd done, not once, but twice before.

Yeah. He not only screwed up the one time, but then he repeated his mistake. If it wasn't bad enough that Steve had left to Japan in his personal quest for Shelburne a while ago, in less than a month he'd done it again.

Though he'd tried to tell Danny. Oh, how he did.

He called. And called. And then called one more time but, whatever the reason, the short blonde didn't pick up his phone. Not once. But Steve couldn't wait. Actually, he could — yes. He should — probably. But at the same time he couldn't.

It was Shelburne.

He was finally gonna understand (or begin to understand) the reason why his father was killed. Sure, he didn't have the most functional relationship with his old man but still... it was his blood that had been shed. His family that had been torn to shreds.

Or so Steve thought it was.

Because when Joe revealed the whole mystery surrounding the Shelburne thing, Steve didn't feel whatever it was that he expected to feel. He didn't feel relieved, he didn't feel glad that it was over... Hell no. If anything, Steve felt like he'd just been thrown right in the middle of a hurricane. His mind went blank when his eyes landed on the person who had opened the door of that simple and quite humble house in Japan...

"Mom?"

How the hell was it possible? His mother was dead. He had buried her almost twenty years ago...

"Hi, son." But Steve would recognize that voice anytime, anywhere, no matter what.

The woman with blonde hair, sprinkled with lighter threads, grey-ish blue eyes and a tired smile in front of him was indeed Doris McGarrett. She was Steve's mother.

"But— how?"

Whatever words that were to follow died in Steve's throat as he stood there, rooted to the spot, not exactly believing his eyes and thoroughly questioning his sanity.

"It's a long story, Steve... Why don't you come in?"

And he did. He listened. And in the end, even though they were face to face, he didn't quite believe it. He didn't believe his mother was still alive, just like he didn't believe that Danny was gone.

And as Steve read those lines one more time, he knew that it was true.

—

Ever since he met Danny, he knew that the _haole_ detective from New Jersey was in Hawaii for one reason and one reason alone: Grace Williams.

Danny had always made things very clear that the only reason he'd move from his beloved city to this island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean was because of his daughter. She was the only thing that kept him in that place, or at least that's always what he insisted on saying...

Steve never believed it though. He knew that Danny was just saying those words. He was a hundred percent positive that it wasn't just Grace that kept him there; not anymore anyway. And when he told him that he wasn't going to leave Hawaii and move to Vegas because of whatever it was that Stan was working on now, Steve believed him.

He thoroughly believed Danny's words because he knew the blonde wouldn't walk away from him. Not now when they had grew so close...

Something must have changed.

When Steve returned from his second trip to Japan and stopped at the place that Danny had finally settled into, he wasn't there. In fact, there was nothing there.

Steve had just assumed the stubborn man had given up living in that matchbox he insisted on calling an apartment and had gone back to Steve's place.

Steve tried calling him but he wasn't answering his phone so he just made a quick stop at a Chinese place and ordered take-out before heading to his house, where he expected to find Danny... but he didn't.

The house was deserted, not a single soul was there, but someone had been.

As Steve stepped in his bedroom, he was hoping not to find Grace's dog on his bed. The dog wasn't there, but there was something lying on his pillow. An envelope.

As Steve took the rectangular paper cover into his hands, his heart sunk in his chest. Even before opening it, he knew.

He didn't want to believe it, but he knew what he was going to find in there. The envelope was too heavy for a letter.

As he opened it and took the folded sheet in his hands, his eyes catch the glimpse of a silver object inside. His heart disappeared. It was his key. The key he'd given to Danny so long ago...

Steve shoved the paper back into the envelope and rubbed his face with his hands. This wasn't happening. It couldn't.

—

After reading, re-reading and re-reading the letter once more, Steve finally let it go…the words were all imprinted in his memory. And, whenever he thought about them, a searing pain shot through his body, starting from his heart.

He folded and placed the wrinkled paper on his nightstand before he tried to get some sleep. He doubted he would have any that night. Whenever he closed his eyes, he saw Danny's handwriting, and it wouldn't matter how hard he tried to focus on the sound of the ocean coming from outside, he could only hear Danny's words, speaking to him, reading the letter over and over again…

"_Partner,  
I'm sorry I couldn't be there in person to tell you this, but I need to go after my daughter.  
As I mentioned before, Rachel is moving to Vegas with Stan... and I just can't live a thousand miles away from Grace. You know she's my life. Literally. I can't let her go. I can't even consider the possibility of not having her in my life... not again.  
I'm sorry that following after Grace means leaving you behind... I hope you know how badly I wish I didn't have to choose between the two of you.  
I hope you found your answers, babe, and I really do hope you're better now.  
Maybe I'll see you somewhere down the road again — I'll hold onto that thought and hope you do the same. Until then, I'm keeping you in my heart.  
Aloha."_

_.  
_

That was it.

No "I'll keep in touch", no information as to how he could find him or anything. Now Steve understood what he meant by "a letter that didn't say anything"...

Danny did say he hoped Steve found his answers, which in a way he did, and he said he hoped he was better, which he thought he was, at least until now. He said "Aloha"... he had meant _goodbye_...

Steve felt terrible.

Not only would Danno never talk to him again, but he would never get to see that annoying, short man from the mainland... Steve had lost Danny. And, in all honesty, he didn't how he would continue his life on the island without him.

With his heart weighing a ton, Steve crawled into bed and gave in to the tiredness... though he wished Danny was there. But he wouldn't be there.

Not today. Not tomorrow... Danny would never be there again.


End file.
